United Nations

Why deals done at the United Nations Security Council undermined efforts to end Israeli occupation.

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Presenter: David Foster.
Guests: Phyllis Bennis - a UN adviser on the Middle East and author of the book 'Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer'. Daniel Levy - Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Nadim Shehadi – an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and Middle East specialist.

Despite the track record of systemic and systematic violations of the range of human rights, the efforts to establish legally binding obligations and an instrument of enforcement within the UN system have been defeated by determined corporate opposition. The current Guiding Principles developed by the former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, John Ruggie, do not create "any new... Read more

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This article appeared in the Right to Food Journal Vol.9 N.1. 2014. ... Read more

The debate about the role of NATO in Ukraine is starting too late: Western leaders already made a fatal decision to back the new Kiev government no matter what it is doing and no matter what the real situation is on the ground.

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While President Obama condemned Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and East European nations called for a more assertive response from NATO, the alliance at its summit last week announced only limited steps to support the nonmember nation. Meanwhile, three former U.S. ambassadors to Moscow are urging restraint.... Read more

The threat of a reckless, dangerous, and illegal US or US-led assault on Syria is looking closer than ever. However any attack will not protect civilians—it will mean taking sides once again in a bloody, complicated civil war.

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The US government has been divided over the Syria crisis since it began. Some, especially in the Pentagon and some of the intelligence agencies, said direct military intervention would be dangerous and would accomplish nothing. Others, especially in Congress and some in the State Department, have demanded military attacks, even regime change, against the Syrian leadership, even before anyone... Read more

The U.S. is 11 years into its current war in Afghanistan and still losing. We never had a chance to "win" this war of vengeance – and while few in Washington are ready to admit that, they’ve continued to revise and redefine just what "winning" might look like.

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It certainly doesn’t look much like what we’re seeing in Afghanistan today. A feckless, corrupt, incompetent government kept alive and in place (we can’t really say "in power" since its reach doesn’t extend much beyond Kabul) by billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars and tens of thousands of U.S. and allied troops. Escalating, not diminishing violence against civilians. More frequent and more deadly... Read more

After 20 years of failed U.S. diplomacy based on protecting Israel’s occupation, the need to move to a new diplomacy rooted in international law and human rights remains a vital necessity.

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Take away the crass political motives, and what is left in the U.S. plan to veto Palestinian membership in the UN can be summed up in one word: chutzpah. The U.S. is threatening to veto a resolution aimed at achieving something Washington claims it supports — a Palestinian state [truncated, still-occupied, demilitarized and divided but nominally independent] side by side with Israel — because... Read more

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